An examination of eating behavior in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A cross-sectional study in a Japanese population

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most concerning chronic liver diseases and has been suggested to be related to obesity. This study aimed to assess the features and tendencies of eating behaviors associated with overeating in patients with NAFLD. The study participants comprised an obese NAFLD group (n = 68), a non-obese NAFLD group (n = 35), and a control group (n = 74). All participants completed an eating behavior questionnaire designed for Japanese people that measures restrained eating, emotional eating, and external eating influences. The scores for each scale were compared between groups by sex. In men in the obese NAFLD group, scores on the restrained eating scale were significantly higher compared with the control group. Meanwhile, in women in the obese NAFLD group, scores on the emotional eating scale were significantly higher compared with the non-obese NAFLD and control groups. In addition, scores on the emotional eating scale showed significantly positive correlations with body mass index in women in the NAFLD group (r = 0.480, p = 0.001). These findings suggest that eating behavior in patients with NAFLD might vary based on obesity status and sex, and these tendencies may be related to overeating and obesity.